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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 124 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  2. The ________________ market has crashed.
  3. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  4. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  5. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  6. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  7. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  8. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  9. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  10. Have you found your soul ________________?
  11. He is an ace ________________.
  12. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  13. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  14. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  15. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  16. The ball is in your ________________.
  17. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  18. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  19. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  20. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  21. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  22. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  23. I'll be taking the ________________.
  24. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. file — a line of people
  2. stock — shares
  3. pitcher — a jug
  4. cue — a hint
  5. stock — goods
  6. file — a document
  7. court — of law
  8. pitcher — a jug
  9. tube — a container
  10. mate — a partner
  11. pitcher — in baseball
  12. snap — to speak sharply
  13. mate — a friend
  14. mate — to breed
  15. stock — a soup base
  16. court — for sport
  17. tube — in a tire
  18. cue — for pool
  19. court — of a king
  20. cue — a signal
  21. file — a tool
  22. snap — to snap out of it
  23. tube — the underground
  24. snap — to click

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com